Columbian Exchange
Aim/Goal: What impact did Spanish and Portuguese explorations have on the Western Hemisphere?
Do Now: Cortes (Spain), with only 500 followers, conquered the great Aztec (Mexico) civilization. Why was he considered a hero by the Europeans, but a villain by the Aztecs? What question does this raise about exploration.
Seeds of Change• Animals• Plants• Diseases• New Technologies• New peoples
New Animals in the Americas• Horse• Cox• Pig• Chicken• Rats• Bees
New plants in the Americas• Sugarcane• Grapes• Wheat• Bananas• Coconut Palms• Coffee• Dandelions
New plants in the “Old World”• Potato• Corn• Tomato• Sweet Potato• Cacao (Cocoa)• Pineapples• Pumpkins
“Old World” Diseases• Smallpox• Measles• Diphteria• Chicken Pox• Bubonic Plague• Influenza• Cholera• Malaria
“New World” Diseases• Syphillis• Hepatitis• Polio• Tuberculosis
New Technologies• Wheel• Firearms
New Peoples• African slaves• Mestizos
New people brought with them new ideas and cultures
Cultural Diffusion
• The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one people to another.
• Cultural diffusion occurs through migration, trade and welfare.
Immediate Causes:• Europeans arrive in the Americas• Europeans bring new plants,
animals and diseases to the Americas
Immediate Effects:• Spanish conquer Aztecs and Incas• Native Americans die of European diseases• Enslaved Africans are brought to the
Americas• American floods are introduced to other
parts of the world
Long Term Effects:• Spread of products all around the
world• Population growth in Europe, Asia,
and Africa• Cultural diffusion• Migration from Europe to the
Americas• Growth of Capitalism
Long Term Causes:• God• Gold• Glory
Columbian Exchange
